In a year or two, if not sooner, Anguilla expects to have a brand new and modern port facility at Blowing Point, on the island’s south coast, linking by sea the British Overseas Territory with French and Dutch St. Martin/St. Maarten, the rest of the region and the world at large.
In the meantime, much work is being concentrated on ensuring that the temporary port arrangements, including a provisional ferry terminal, the acquisition of additional land areas and other important procedures, are well in hand and going very well. This is all being done while plans continue for the permanent port fixtures and services.
Two influential officials, involved in the present and future work at the port, were on hand there for an interview with The Anguillian newspaper, on Tuesday, May 7. They were the Elected Representative for Road South, who is the Minister of Infrastructure and Communications, Mr. Curtis Richardson; and the newly-appointed CEO of the Anguilla Air and Sea Ports Authority, Mr. Sherman Williams.
The interview with the Minister and Mr. Williams went as follows:
How far have matters developed since Government’s move to develop the port?
Mr. Sherman Williams
We are now anxiously awaiting the commencement of the new permanent terminal building,” the Minister told the newspaper. “As you know, we have some land issues to deal with. Mr. Williams and I set out very early to deal with the landowners in a particular manner. We were very successful on the lands closer up the road to the Chinese property. Then everybody got involved and had a different mind-set as to what they thought was proper and fitting. We have now ended up having to go through compulsory acquisition. I was of the view that we should just meet with the people. Mr. Williams and I travelled to St. Thomas and had meetings with the owners just to come to an understanding about a figure. We took a very long time to get that figure from them; and over that time a lot of persons got involved.
The matter has now reached a point where the land is in the Government’s name because we took it by compulsory acquisition. But the owners of the land are not quite settled because they have not been paid – because some of the offers that were made were not in keeping with what they thought was just and fair. We will proceed with the new terminal building. We have to relocate one car rental that was compulsorily acquired but is still on the property. Then D & K has a snacket that has to be relocated. After that, we will push forward with the commencement of the building and securing the perimeter area.
I have done all I could so and I am just waiting for the process and procedures to pan out correctly, and to see the start of the building. A lot of people have been questioning why I pursued so much land here, but Mr. Williams and I felt that we wanted to pursue as much land as we could because the port is expansive development. We are looking forward to the future growth. Over the weekend, there was a big show in St. Martin and a lot of people in Anguilla, who went there, were very happy to come down here and it was very easy for them to find parking. We had ample space and the entire parking lot was taken up. I came down to look at it, and I am very pleased that people are now beginning to understand and appreciate why we need so much land.
How much money has Government paid so far for land in Blowing Point?
We had a mechanism where we went to Social Security about two lots, that had houses on them, and we paid over 800,000 US dollars. We have not yet settled on four other properties, but I thought that Mr. Williams was taking the best path. That is because, in dealing with people with their property, one of the things we must taken into account is that we are moving a country forward, and not our own personal thoughts and feelings, and there is no reason to hold up a country with ill feelings over a few hundred thousand dollars. We must push the country forward and to do our best.
There is a two-acre lot and I want to thank Mr. Williams for being able to get this parking space lighted, thus making it more functional in the evenings. We had an agreement for just over one million US dollars as the price. Some people may feel it is a significant amount of money to spend, but if you were to divide 3-4 million US dollars – by forever – for the national development of Anguilla, I think it is well worth it. In the long run the generations to come will not have to come back in this area to spend money or anything else regarding land and other property. You must have vision to give future generations the ability to expand or develop without running back to the challenges and problems.
It is your turn to speak, Mr. Williams. What comments do you have about the development of the port?
There are a few entities that I must thank, first of all. They are the Board and Management and Staff of the Anguilla Air and Sea Ports Authority for their steadfast work, for almost the past two years, since Hurricane Irma made us begin the work at the Blowing Point Port; the Governor’s Office, the Chief Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Utilities, and all the other ministries, for their steadfast work and for supporting the vision that the Minister has so eloquently laid out. I also thank the Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Departments, the Social Security Board, and ANGLEC, for working steadfastly and recognising our needs. We were in a situation where up to four acres of land were needed in order to develop the port. I think everyone understands that a port needs a large area of land for its development.
Anguilla is not like other places in the world where there are a lot of land available. All our ports, including the three seaports, are in communities. When that is the case, you have to see yourself as a corporate citizen and have to be one with the community as much as possible.
In terms of what the Minister laid out, we are right now still in the negotiation process with landowners for various parcels of land. As he has correctly said, the land has been compulsorily acquired and the Anguilla Air and Sea Ports Authority are moving forward towards the construction of the new Blowing Point Ferry Terminal. It should be dynamic enough to support all stakeholders at the port. What we had before was archaic in terms of allowing sufficient persons to move freely through the port – as well as to support the different businesses associated with the facility.
It is not only ferries and charter vessels, but there are also taxis, vendors, concierge and other persons. The port must be flexible enough to deal sufficiently in all of these areas. That is what we are steadfastly moving towards. It has taken a long time in terms of the concept for the new terminal building but, taking into account the demands of stakeholders for its various services, it must be something at the forefront of our minds.
